Known among military ammunition used as chemical weapons or the like (such as projectiles, bombs, land mines and naval mines) is a device with a steel bomb shell whose internal space is filled with a bursting charge and a chemical agent hazardous to human bodies. Mustard gas and lewisite hazardous to human bodies are examples of such chemical agents.
A known method of disposing of (e.g., detoxifying) the aforementioned chemical weapons and hazardous substances such as organic halogen or the like is blasting disposal operation. The blasting disposal method does not require disassembling operation. Therefore, this blasting disposal method is applicable not only to disposal of a favorably preserved chemical weapon or the like but also to disposal of a chemical weapon or the like which has become difficult to disassemble due to deterioration over time or deformation. Furthermore, the blasting disposal operation produces ultrahigh temperature and ultrahigh pressure in a surrounding area of the chemical weapon or the like, so that almost all of the chemical agents can be decomposed by use of the blasting disposal method. This kind of blasting disposal method is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.
In the blasting disposal method, the chemical weapons or the like are often disposed of in a sealed pressure container. This approach is used to prevent leakage of the chemical agents to the exterior and to reduce propagation of noise and vibration to the exterior. Typically, the pressure container is provided with a lid which can be opened and closed. The chemical weapon or the like is placed inside the pressure container with the lid open. Then, the lid is closed and the chemical weapon or the like is subjected to the blasting disposal operation under conditions where an internal space of the pressure container is sealed. After the blasting operation, the lid is reopened and the interior of the pressure container is cleaned. Upon completion of the blasting operation, however, there remain hazardous gases like carbon monoxide produced by detonation and the hazardous substance within the pressure container. Accordingly, when the lid is opened for cleaning and so on, it is necessary to ensure that the aforementioned hazardous substance or the like would not disperse to the exterior from inside the pressure container. One approach to suppressing such dispersion of the hazardous substance or the like is to provide a suction device on an opposite side of the lid and introduce atmospheric air into the pressure container from the exterior at a constant rate by the suction device, for example.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-286886